WAKEFIELD PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of the Superintendent 60 Farm Street Wakefield, MA 01880 (P) 781-246-6400, (F) 781-245-9164 Dr. Stephen K. Zrike, Jr. Superintendent of Schools
Dr. Sandra J. Halloran Assistant Superintendent of Schools
March 7, 2013 Dear Wakefield Families, I wanted to provide you with information on the state assessments that your children in grades 310 will be taking over the next few months. As many of you are aware, Wakefield has administered the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) to students for the last 15 years. The MCAS provides schools and families with valuable information on student performance and progress relative to the Massachusetts Curriculum Standards. Once again, the MCAS will be given to students in Wakefield this spring. The schedule is as follows: March 17-March 31 Gr. 3-8 ELA Reading Comprehension March 18 Gr. 4, 7, 10 ELA Composition March 19 Gr. 10 ELA Reading Comprehension, Sessions 1 & 2 March 21 Gr. 10 ELA Reading Comprehension, Session 3 March 27 Gr. 4, 7, 10 ELA Composition Make-Up May 5-20 Gr. 3-8 Math May 6-20 Gr. 5 & 8 Science & Tech/Engineering May 13 & 14 Gr. 10, Math, Session 1 and Session 2 June 2 & 3 High School STE* Tests, Session 1 and Session 2 *=Biology, Chemistry, Introductory Physics, Technology/Engineering Tests
For the first time this year, some of our students (as a pilot) will be taking portions of a new assessment entitled PARCC. PARCC or The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career aligns to the Common Core State Standards, which were adopted as Massachusetts state standards in July 2011. The Massachusetts Board of Education is considering adopting the PARCC assessment beginning in the 2015-16 school year. In preparation for this possible adoption, five of our six schools have been selected to participate in the 2014 PARCC field test. Not all students and grades at these schools will participate in the pilot. Additionally, the students participating will take only part of the assessment in one content area (either English/Language Arts or Mathematics). A list of schools and students participating can be found below: Grade Course Dolbeare 4 Woodville School 3 Greenwood 4 Galvin 7 Galvin 8 WMHS Algebra I WMHS Geometry WMHS Algebra II School Name
Subject Area Mathematics ELA Mathematics ELA Mathematics Mathematics Mathematics Mathematics
Number of Classes 2 2 2 2 2 4 4 2
Mode of Admin. Online Online Paper Online Online Online Online Online
Component PBA & EOY PBA EOY EOY EOY PBA & EOY EOY PBA & EOY
Number of Sessions 4 3 2 2 2 4 2 4
The purpose of the field test is to try out the test questions, before the test counts, and to make certain the questions measure the subject area content contained in the learning standards. Your child's participation is important and allows our state to build a strong assessment. Other important aspects of the PARCC pilot in Wakefield include: • PARCC assessments have two distinct components: Performance-Based Assessments (PBA) and End-of-Year (EOY) assessments. PBAs will be administered between March 24th and April 11th, while EOYs will take place between May 5th and June 6th. • Some students will take the computer-based version of the PARCC and others will be administered a traditional paper/pencil version of the assessment. • Students with disabilities and English Language Leaners will receive appropriate accommodations to participate in the PARCC field test. • We will not receive student scores for this field test. • Individual classrooms were randomly selected to take the PARCC. • Earlier this year the School District, with the support of the School Committee, decided to exempt those students selected to take the PBA portions (in grades 3-8 only) of the PARCC from also being given the MCAS in the same content area. I encourage you to visit the PARCC website- http://www.parcconline.org/field-test-for more information, including sample assessment items. Your child’s school will continue to provide you with school specific information about the administration of the MCAS and PARCC. Thank you in advance for ensuring that your child is present in school during these upcoming assessment sessions. Please remind your children not to stress over these tests, but rather use them as an opportunity to share how much they have learned. It is merely one piece of information illustrating how talented they are. As always we appreciate your support and investment in your child’s learning. Sincerely,
Stephen Zrike
